Flames sprang up at the foot of the mountain, one cluster, two, three. The spirits gathered around the bonfires, the dancing firelight reflected in their eyes, their faces full of wonder and admiration.
They had never known what fire was before. To them, flames were something unfamiliar and entirely new.
"So this is fire?"
"It's so warm!"
"Like flowing sunlight!"
"The creation His Highness brought us really is as beautiful as he is."
Exclamations of admiration rose one after another. Acenoe took the opportunity to remind them of the precautions: they could not touch the flames, which would burn them. They had to keep their distance and not get too close.
The spirits nodded earnestly, but they could not bear to take their eyes off that dancing light.
While they were absorbed in the novelty of fire, Nairmis took cooking utensils from the pile of materials. Then his Cooking Divinity began to work.
He set the prepared lamb skewers over the fire and sprinkled them with the rock salt and wild spices he had found that day. Fat dripped into the flames with a sizzle, and the aroma spread.
In another clay pot, lamb churned in the boiling liquid. Chopped root vegetables swirled on the surface of the soup, and the milky broth gradually thickened as it bubbled.
The spirits were dumbfounded. Since their birth, they had never needed to eat, only occasionally eating wild fruit. They had never encountered the concept of cooking.
When Nairmis handed out the first batch of cooked lamb skewers, they hesitantly took a bite, then their eyes flew wide open.
"Heavens..."
"What is this flavor?"
"It's so delicious!"
"Just what kind of god is His Highness? He can do absolutely anything!"
Praise rose one after another. Nairmis sat beside the bonfire, holding a clay bowl filled with steaming lamb soup.
He took a sip. The savory flavor spread across his tongue, and warmth slipped down his throat into his stomach.
The Cooking Divinity gently rotated inside him, and his divine power began to grow. His flame divinity also glimmered faintly and began to strengthen.
"Not bad," Nairmis murmured, taking another sip.
The spirits ate, drank, and laughed.
The bonfires burned among them, firelight dancing across their faces. The mutated spirits now sat together with the other Nymphs. No one shrank back or felt inferior because of her appearance anymore.
Their smiles were the same, the light in their eyes was the same, and the lamb soup they held was equally warm.
Nairmis leaned against a rock, his gaze sweeping over these living beings. Some were his old followers, while others were new faces who had only joined that day.
But now, surrounded by bonfires, they looked like a unified whole.
That night, the spirits went to sleep early. After a full day of work and a delicious meal unlike anything they had ever experienced, they rested their heads on their arms or their companions' shoulders, their breathing gradually growing even. Firelight shone on their faces, and they all wore smiles.
Nairmis also lay down on the grass and fell asleep.
When daylight arrived the next day, a tremendous boom jolted Nairmis awake.
The sound came from the sky. His eyes snapped open, and before his vision had fully focused, he saw that golden light: a pillar descending from the center of the heavens, locking precisely onto his location.
He had no time even to react. An irresistible force seized his body and lifted him into the air, his lyre following.
The spirits in the distance screamed in terror and rushed toward him. Acenoe reached out to catch the hem of his clothes, but the instant her hand touched the golden pillar, it was knocked away.
It was Uranus. Nairmis simply gave up struggling. He had no idea what had happened. Hadn't everything been fine yesterday? Why was he being hauled into the sky after just one night?
The world fell silent at that moment. Every powerful being sensed that golden light descend, and they watched the young blond god being dragged into the sky.
After the upheaval of the Twelve Titans being stuffed back into their mother's womb, the world had grown accustomed to the sky's brutality. Yet at the sight before them, some still swallowed involuntarily and felt a moment of sympathy for Nairmis.
"That poor child."
A soft sigh came from some unknown corner.
In the Earth Divine Domain, Gaia abruptly leaned forward.
Her fingers gripped the armrests of her divine throne. Her gaze pierced through the Earth Divine Domain and fell upon the god being enveloped in golden light in the sky.
Her heartbeat quickened. Why? Why had Uranus seized him? Had that brutal God King already discovered her plan?
She tried to stand, bracing both hands on the armrests and exerting her waist and abdomen, but her strength, of which barely a small portion had recovered, was far too feeble against the twelve heavy masses of essence in her belly.
Her knees bent, and she sank back onto the divine throne. The essences within her belly shifted slightly with her movements, sending a dull ache through her.
Gaia's face twisted for an instant. She hated this helplessness. And she was afraid, afraid Uranus would destroy her only hope.
That variable standing outside fate-if he died, everything would be over.
At the entrance to the Underworld, Hemera paced back and forth.
The radiance of daylight enveloping her stood out sharply against the darkness at the edge of the Underworld. She had been standing there for a long time.
Ever since that golden light flashed through the sky, she had abandoned all her duties of daylight and rushed straight to the entrance to the Underworld, wanting to pass through its gates and return to her mother's Night Divine Domain.
But the laws stopped her. A natural barrier of law separated daylight from night. Unless it was nighttime, she could not set foot within the Underworld.
She stood at that invisible boundary, her fingertips able to touch the aura of the Underworld, yet she could not take that half step across.
"Mother..." She bit her lip, grievance and anxiety in her voice.
There was no reply. In the direction of the Night Divine Domain, all was silent.
Hemera stamped her foot. She had been looking for her mother since yesterday, hurrying back to the Night Divine Domain when daylight ended, but Nyx had not seen her. She did not understand why her mother refused to see her.
Deep within the Night Divine Domain, Nyx sat on her divine throne.
She had sensed the golden light's descent and ascent, sensed the path along which Nairmis was taken to the Sky Divine Domain. The river of fate was reflected in her eyes, but this was another variable outside fate, beyond what had been predetermined, following no established course.
Just as Nyx was about to continue manipulating the power of fate, a slight cramp suddenly passed through her belly.
She looked down. Within her lower abdomen, a soft mass of deep purple light was pulsing faintly. Her body was nurturing a new life, a being destined to arrive, but not to be born now.
Nyx fell silent for a while, her expression complicated. In the end, she merely sighed quietly. She raised her head again and looked toward the Sky Divine Domain.
Passing through the white barrier, Nairmis slammed heavily onto the ground of the Sky Divine Domain and slid across its surface for quite some time before coming to a stop.
"Hiss!"
He stood up, rubbing his knees and baring his teeth as he looked toward the divine throne in the center: golden armrests, a silver backrest, and patterns of law flowing ceaselessly over it. The imposing man seated upon it propped his head on one hand, sunlight falling over him.
A little flame flared in Nairmis's heart. He had been snatched out of his sleep, risen ten thousand meters in terror, then been thrown onto the ground of the divine domain. His knees still hurt so much they felt numb. Did he really think Nairmis had no temper?
But he took a deep breath and smothered that little flame. When under another's roof, he had no choice but to bow his head. This was the God King, a being who could crush him with a single finger.
He could not lose his temper. He had to smile.
Nairmis gave a brilliant smile that looked genuinely radiant. He knelt on one knee, pressed his right hand to his left breast, and lowered his forehead slightly, his voice respectful. "God of the sky who stands at the pinnacle of the world, Your Majesty Uranus, the God King to whom all gods submit, Nairmis, God of Emotions, offers you his highest respects. May your reign be as eternal as time."
After finishing, he maintained his half-kneeling posture and waited for the God King to speak.
Uranus looked at him expressionlessly, then lifted a finger slightly. Behind Nairmis, the lyre floated into the air, drifted over his shoulder, and settled gently before him.
Still kneeling on one knee, Nairmis looked at the instrument. He froze, then understood what was happening.
Now he wanted to curse even more. He had spent all that time in fear, from the terror of being caught in the golden light, to desperately recalling what mistakes he had made during the ascent, to racking his brains for flattering words after landing.
And this God King had hauled him into the sky just to have him play the lyre?
For several seconds, all manner of curses filled his mind, but reason finally surfaced from his seething emotions.
Hold it in, hold it in. He's Uranus. He's the God King.
Seeing Uranus close his eyes, Nairmis dared not delay. He sat cross-legged before the lyre, reached out to touch its strings, took a deep breath, and began to play.
Music drifted out of the Sky Divine Domain, reaching some of the gods below who were still watching.
The world's attention focused on the sky once again. The gods who had been silently mourning Nairmis all froze when they heard those notes.
What was going on?